


just baking with my bro (not really)

by dollabeach



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, baking au, but who knows, jaehyun can bake, just some cute fluff, maybe they both kinda like each other, roommate au, sicheng can't bake, they make brownies, they r in like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 08:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17321180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dollabeach/pseuds/dollabeach
Summary: sicheng is really craving brownies and asks jaehyun to make him some. at 1 am. jaehyun says yes. they have lots of cute fun and dance and it's pretty cute! maybe they like each other! who knows? not sicheng





	just baking with my bro (not really)

sicheng feels his stomach grumble loudly after the fourth baking recipe video he’s watched. why he’d thought watching food videos while hungry was a good idea, he isn't quite sure. but, refusing to listen to the voice of reason, his fingers move the mousepad to click on the next video, titled “The Best Fudgy Brownies Ever!” swallowing his saliva. 

he knows he should stop. it’s about 1 in the morning, and watching food videos is a terrible idea, especially one that is doing absolutely nothing to help his desperate craving. now, he’s gonna go to sleep hungry and probably dream of some delicious, chewy, fudgy, rich, decadent chocolate brownies… 

his stomach makes a sound again. almost as if it’s pleading his brain to shut up and let it be in peace. 

he’s had enough. sicheng pauses the video, which is useless, since there’s 4 seconds left. he would go to the supermarket right now, which is, like, a 7 minute walk (5 if he speed-walks, which he definitely would), but it’s long since it closed. so that’s no longer a viable option. 

he closes his laptop and sighs, leaving the room pitch black, except for the light peeping through the crack of his door from the light on in the living room. jaehyun’s still awake, he figures. he puts his laptop on his nightstand, closing his eyes. 

jaehyun, his roommate, is still awake. 

jaehyun, his roommate, who cooks very well… is still awake. 

sicheng’s eyes open immediately. his feet move faster than his brain, who still isn't sure what he's going to do. ask jaehyun to… make brownies with him? at 1 am? 

he leaves his room anyways, because jaehyun already thinks sicheng is plenty weird. it’s fine, though, since jaehyun is pretty weird too. 

(like, one time he walked into his room to see jaehyun looking into the mirror with his mouth wide open and head tilted back, looking into his mouth. “uh,” sicheng finally said after staring at him, startling him. “i was, uh. checking for a cavity,” he explained, face reddening. sicheng told him you can’t actually see cavities, and jaehyun was left more confused than embarassed.) 

he walks into the living room to see jaehyun lying on the couch, food network on the tv (oh, great, his stomach complains), scrolling through his phone. he looks up from his phone to look at sicheng. “hey,” he says to him. “not asleep?” he pulls out an airpod, making sicheng want to roll his eyes. he shakes his head. “nah, can’t.” 

jaehyun frowns. “is the tv bothering you? i can turn it off if you want,” he offers, already sitting up and reaching for the remote to turn it off. sicheng is weak at his roommates courtesy and kindness, as always. jaehyun is the ideal roommate. and man. and he's getting distracted. 

sicheng shakes his head again, sitting down on the other arm of the couch. “no, no, it’s okay! no, I'm just like… really hungry.” 

“oh!” he says, crossing his legs in his upright position. “mm, i think there’s leftovers in the fridge, and some chips i didn't finish in the cabinet.” sicheng shakes his head again. “no, I'm actually, like, really craving brownies. right now.” jaehyun looks at him expectantly, obviously not sure what he has to do with his sugar craving. “okay?” 

sicheng grins really wide, hopeful that he’ll agree to his request if he acts cute, at least. he really would risk it all for these brownies. “would you please, please, please,” he asks, shifting down the couch to scooch up right next to him, “bake some brownies with me? right now?” jaehyun rolls his eyes. “really? right now?” 

sicheng pokes his arm and nudges him a couple times. “please?” he pouts the best pout he’s ever pouted and looks up at his face. jaehyun’s eyes look into his for a couple seconds (a couple seconds too long for sicheng’s cardiorespiratory system). 

at last, jaehyun sighs and gets up from the couch. “okay, fine. but only because i don't want you trying and setting off the fire alarm.” sicheng, choosing to ignore the comment, gets up from the couch as well, skipping to the kitchen happily. 

he’s not wrong though. sicheng can’t cook, or bake, or do anything related to making food successfully. jaehyun learned that for the firs time after sicheng tried to make chicken soup for him when he was sick and in bed, and jaehyun took a sip from the bowl and realized he literally just warmed up some chicken stock and put it in a bowl. still, he appreciated the gesture. not so much the “soup.” 

nonetheless, sicheng was excited to help out in the kitchen. “okay, what’s first? what do we need? flour? eggs? is it just one egg? single egg? milk?” sicheng rambles, pacing around the kitchen. jaehyun snickers. 

“as much as i do appreciate the effort,” jaehyun tells him, reaching for the sugar in the lower cabinet, “im very much aware that this is going to end up with me making the brownies and you watching me.” he places the sugar on the kitchen island, grinning at the other boy. sicheng glares. 

“listen, just because _your_ parents decided to educate you with the gracious gift of knowledge of the art of cuisine or whatever, and mine _didn’t-_ ”

“don’t you watch food recipe videos, like, all the time? you literally watch food network with me.” 

sicheng frowns. he does have a point. 

jaehyun laughs, pinching his cheek from across the island. his face felt warm. “i don’t mind, goof. just keep me company and watch me work my food magic,” jaehyun says, teasingly. sicheng sticks out his tongue, but is grateful for the Brownie Man. 

jaehyun works fast. he grabs ingredients and materials with ease, since he knows where they are (being the only person that actually uses them) and gets to work. he somehow also knows the correct measurements and appears to know what he’s doing, which is equally enviable and attractive. 

sicheng watches intently, his cheek resting on his hand, as jaehyun measures out the flour, seemingly focused on the measurements. suddenly, jaehyun blows on some flour that got on his hands into sicheng’s face. spluttering and surprised, he jerks up from his leaning position and dusts off his face and shirt. jaehyun, being an asshole, finds his reaction hilarious and can’t seem to stop laughing. 

sicheng huffs, ignoring jaehyun’s unceasing guffaws sounding in his ears. “oh my god, I'm gonna kill you. but only after you make these for me. then ill kill you,” he warns the boy, ignoring his laughter. jaehyun wipes his eyes, a laugh escaping his mouth again. “oh god. that was so good. so worth it.” 

“i can’t believe you flour-bombed me.”

jaehyun frowns. “is that- did you just reference victorious?” 

sicheng scratches his head. “i don't think nickelodeon invented flour-bombing. i- you watched victorious?” jaehyun chooses to ignore his question.

but he continues his process, and sicheng continues to watch him - from a distance - as he cracks the eggs into the bowl with one hand. it was almost as if jaehyun was trying to impress him, but sicheng can tell he was struggling with the second egg and muffles a giggle into his hand. 

he eventually just used both hands to crack the eggs, muttering about how it was a “thicker shell than usual.” 

when he starts beating the butter and sugar and eggs and whatever, sicheng gets a bit bored and decides to play some music from his phone. he’s not sure if jaehyun knows the song or the artist, but he sees a small smile form on his lips and mouth the lyrics. 

he starts to hum the melody of the song, which he really shouldn’t have, because sicheng’s stomach does a weird thing when he hears jaehyun sing, and it’s really unfair. 

while jaehyun works, sicheng starts to dance around the kitchen. well, it’s less dancing and more skipping and twirling and trying to bother the boy, because sicheng is annoying. 

jaehyun seems to enjoy it, though, since he’s giggling and looking up at sicheng while whisking. he peeks at his dimples that show up, and works extra hard to make him smile. even if it requires throwing away his cool exterior to make a fool of himself. he doesn't say that out loud though, because he would like to keep _some_ dignity. 

after a while, though, sicheng gets bored again. “are you _sure_ there’s nothing i can do?” he feels bad that he was the one that asked jaehyun to make the brownies, but isn’t doing anything to help. 

but jaehyun seems to disagree. “i told you! just keep me company while i do this.” he grins toothily at sicheng. sicheng frowns, but doesn't argue. he paces around the kitchen, the only sound being the mixing of ingredients and the music in the background. 

he smells the cocoa from the brownie mixture, and he’s reminded of how hungry he is. he doesn't want to bother jaehyun too much, but he also really wants to try the brownie mix. when jaehyun turns to check on the oven, he quickly dips a finger into the bowl and sticks his finger in his mouth. 

it tastes amazing. unfortunately, jaehyun definitely saw him lick his finger. he places his hands on his waist. 

“you’re gonna get salmonella.” 

sicheng just grins toothily. “if i die somehow, id prefer to die eating raw brownie mix,” he declares. “that’s an honourable way to go, right?” jaehyun snickers. 

“i don’t think you’ll die from salmonella.” 

“darn.” 

jaehyun shakes his head amusedly and continues to mix, humming along to the song playing. just as sicheng was about to ask when they could eat, jaehyun announces it’s time to put them in the oven. sicheng claps excitedly - the moment he’s been waiting for! for only about an hour, admittedly, but it felt like an eternity. 

“wait!” jaehyun exclaims suddenly. “i have a job for you, actually.” sicheng stands up, ready to finally help jaehyun out and not feel useless. “really? what is it?” he asks, eyes widening. 

jaehyun holds up the wooden spoon, covered in dark brownie batter. it looks delicious. “okay,” he says, dramatically taking a deep breath. “lick the spoon.” jaehyun breaks into a broad grin, still holding out the spoon in front of him. 

sicheng is pouts at him, but takes the spoon anyway and starts eating the batter almost immediately, to jaehyun’s delight. he watches in amusement as sicheng licks the spoon clean. he figures he probably looks like a child right now, but doesn't care at all. 

jaehyun puts the pans in the oven, careful to not hurt himself. the pans are pretty big, and he notices that there are two pans, not just one. sicheng tilts his head, looking at jaehyun. “how many brownies does this make?”

jaehyun shrugs. “i think, like, 24-ish brownies per tin? so maybe 48 brownies?” sicheng’s mouth opens in shock. “you made almost 50 brownies?” jaehyun nods while setting the timer. “yeah?”

sicheng gives him a look of disbelief. despite his extreme hunger, he’s a pretty small guy. he feels like he can devour all 48 right now, but he knows he’s only going to be able to eat, like, 4 before starting to feeling sick. 

“jaehyun! you know you didn’t have to make this many, right? like, a dozen would have been more than enough,” sicheng says. “even 24 could probably last us a while. probably.” he remembers jaehyun is here too - and that boy can _eat._ but still, it would have been enough. 

jaehyun leans on the counter, giving him a sheepish smile. “you’re probably right,” he tells him, rubbing his eyes. is he tired? sicheng feels kind of bad for making him stay up so late. 

“i haven't baked since i lived with my parents, and my mom would always tell me to make… a lot so we’d have enough to give our neighbours and my mom’s church friends and stuff. i forgot to adjust the measurements, i guess.” he looks a bit embarrassed. “shit, i kinda wasted a lot of ingredients… is that…” 

his heart melts a little bit. sicheng makes a mental note to add this to his “Reasons Why Jaehyun Is The Perfect Man” list in his head.

he quickly interrupts him. “no! no, no, i’m not mad or anything, if anything i owe my life to you for even doing this for me right now.” jaehyun giggles. 

“but like, what are we gonna do with the rest of these brownies?” jaehyun purses his lips, walking back into the living room, sicheng following him. 

“we can probably give them to friends,” jaehyun says, sitting down on the couch comfortably. “or hand them out to neighbours later, when they’re, you know, awake.” sicheng sits next to him, his legs sprawled on the couch and leaning his back on jaehyun’s side. 

he feels oddly close to jaehyun right now. not that they weren’t friends already, but he realizes he doesn't spend that much time with jaehyun, despite having lived together for over a year now.  
they don’t hang out that much or make plans or anything, and jaehyun spends a lot of time outside the house, unlike sicheng, who prefers to stays inside. 

he’s not sure about jaehyun, but sicheng feels like this was a good bonding experience. he notices that it was never awkward or anything, despite the long moments of silence and sicheng’s lack of ability to actually help him and participate. 

something about jaehyun makes him feel so comfortable and relaxed around him. he wonders if jaehyun knows this. he wonders if this is why he’s so likeable, the reason everyone around him seems to want to be friends with him. is this why everyone has a crush on him? is his easygoing-ness the cherry on top to his good looks and talent? 

as sicheng dissects jaehyun’s personality in his head, he begins to doze off. it’s late now, and his eyes feel droopy and his head feels heavy. he doesn't consider the fact that he’s still leaning against jaehyun and his head is falling back onto his shoulder. or the fact that his neck is starting to cramp from the angle of his neck. 

and as he drifts into sleep, he doesn't notice jaehyun tense up when he feels sicheng’s hair tickle his neck and jaw. nor does he stir from his sleep when jaehyun gently moves his head into his lap (only because it’s more comfortable for sicheng, of course), or notice jaehyun’s tiny laugh when sicheng begins to snore lightly (it’s kind of endearing, okay?). 

sicheng doesn't feel him move his hair out of his face (he doesn’t want it to tickle his nose and bother him in his sleep. that’s the only reason, really). nor does he sense jaehyun’s gaze on his face the entire time, looking, almost wistfully, at his sharp features that soften when he’s asleep. 

finally, the timer on jaehyun’s phone goes off, waking sicheng from what seemed to him like a 3 minute nap, and waking jaehyun from his trance. he sits up, removing himself from jaehyun’s lap (which was weird, but he didn't ask). 

he sits for a couple seconds, rubbing his eyes and slapping his face to wake up before he stands up. jaehyun watches him in amusement, which sicheng didn't pay attention to. he stands up and walks to the kitchen, sicheng slowly following him with dragging feet and yawning. 

then it hits him. the _smell._

sicheng smells the waft of chocolate and sweetness enter his nose, and his stomach is reminded of the reason he’s still awake - the brownies. he almost squeals when jaehyun pulls the giant tins out of the oven, running over to the kitchen island to ogle at the most delicious-looking brownies he’s ever seen. 

he almost wants to cry. this is the moment he’s been waiting for, his intense craving, the only thing that matters to him right now- 

jaehyun interrupts his thoughts, as if he can tell what he’s thinking. “we have to wait for them to cool a little bit.” sicheng snaps out of his euphoria and gives him a look of annoyance. “what? cool? how long? brownies are better warm, can’t we ju-” 

he’s interrupted again. shaking his head, jaehyun rejects his request. “nope,” he says as he transfers the dark brown dessert onto a separate tray. “you’ll burn your tongue. these are still super hot.” sicheng pouts. 

“baking is so much effort,” sicheng complains. “baking is so much effort,” jaehyun mimics, a silly smile forming on his face. “what exactly did _you_ bake, sicheng?” he laughs, poking his side. sicheng actually squeals this time, jumping. “jaehyun!” he exclaims, as jaehyun sticks out his tongue. he’s extremely ticklish, and aggressive when he gets tickled, so jaehyun is lucky that he wasn't right behind him or he would have received an unpleasing jab in the stomach. 

he huffs, sitting down on the black high chair at the kitchen island. “if it weren’t-” sicheng glances at the time. “-2:38 in the morning, and i had more energy, i would have already beaten you to the ground.” jaehyun scoffs. “i’m very sure you would, you 100 pound tiny boy of death. please spare me,” he retorts sarcastically. sicheng rolls his eyes. 

after some joking around and talking to each other, jaehyun gages that the brownies are probably ready to eat. sicheng closes his eyes and raises his arms to the sky, as if to say “hallelujah! glory to god!”

jaehyun carefully cuts the brownies into pieces, cutting exactly 48 brownies. sicheng watches in amazement and expectation, like a child. jaehyun places most of the brownies into a large tupperware first, and the rest onto a plate. he smacks sicheng’s impatient hand that reaches to grab a brownie ever so often, earning multiple groans from the boy. 

finally, jaehyun says he’s allowed to try one. sicheng doesn't need to be told twice. 

jaehyun gives him a nervous look as he quickly grabs one off the small plate and takes a bite. and, of course, he finds that jaehyun didn't dissapoint. 

the brownie is so rich and the perfect texture - not too fudgy, but not cakey, either. he wants to applaud him, give him a standing ovation. the sweetness is perfectly balanced too, just the way he likes it. they’re simple, without any extra additions to the brownies, and they're absolutely amazing that way. he moans into his second bite, devouring the dessert. 

“im assuming it’s… good?” jaehyun inquires with a hopeful smile. sicheng can’t even answer him, because he’s stuffing another one in his mouth. “oh my god,” he manages in between bites. “you’re- these are the best brownies I've had in my entire life. like, literally, the _best._

jaehyun laughs, a little bashful. he sits down, across from sicheng. “i think your judgement is clouded right now. you flatter me.” sicheng doesn't bother replying, because this was _so worth it._ jaehyun picks one up too, eating it a bit more graciously than him.

“you have to bake more often,” sicheng says, wiping off the chocolate crumbs from the sides of his mouth. “i mean, not too often, because i think id gain way too much weight, but still. i think id risk it for this.” jaehyun laughs, reaching to wipe the crumbs sicheng missed. he might have blushed a little, but he blames it on how hot it is inside the kitchen. because of the oven. 

“i could teach you, one day,” he suggests nonchalantly, but there’s apprehension in his voice. sicheng is flustered, since this is the first time jaehyun has suggested they spend time together. unsure of what to say, he stutters a bit. “oh, i… uh-”

jaehyun rushes to speak, interrupting. “no, um, just because, like, you like watching food videos and stuff? right? and, like, i thought you’d be interested-”

sicheng nods enthusiastically. “no, of course!” he butts in quickly, not wanting to give jaehyun the wrong idea. in fact, he would love to spend more time with his roommate. and, for the first time, he feels like they’re actually… friends. “that… is a great idea,” he says with a small smile, slower this time.

relief shows on jaehyun’s face. he beams at sicheng, his dimples prominent and his eyes crinkling wonderfully. the kitchen lighting is really ugly and unflattering for most people, but it seems to have no effect on jaehyun’s face. how unfair. 

“i gotta warn you, though,” sicheng admits. “somehow, those cooking videos don’t help me at all, because i’m still kinda clueless when it comes to working in the kitchen. 

“how surprising,” jaehyun deadpans. “your chicken soup was amazing, though! I'm gonna need the recipe for that one,” he jokes, recalling the memory. 

sicheng groans in embarassment. “listen! isn’t chicken stock a liquid? and does it not taste like chicken? is that not chicken soup, in its simplest form?”

“no. it’s not.” 

sicheng frowns. jaehyun pinches his cheek again, for whatever reason. “it’s okay,” he says brightly, eyes twinkling. “i’ll teach you. i wouldn't mind teaching you any day.” at his words, sicheng’s heart rate sped up like he just took 3 shots of espresso at once. he could only nod enthusiastically, not trusting his voice to be strong enough to reply. 

“and, hey! don’t worry if you can’t bake.” 

sicheng tilts his head. “why not?” 

jaehyun breaks into a bright grin. “i definitely wouldn’t mind baking for you again. not at all.”

sicheng is definitely going to ask jaehyun to bake for him again. and again. and again.

**Author's Note:**

> omg so this is sporadic but whatever I'm a sucker for a baking au and some sweet fluff and I'm not claiming to be a writer so i can't promise that this is even good but. it was on my mind. also remember nct life cooking?? the jaewin in that nct life was absolutely everything and so here we are   
> twt @meowjeno


End file.
